Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Mah Na Mah Na

So I had this weird earworm this morning. It was in my head all through the day and into the afternoon before I realized what was really weird about it.
I didn't know the title. Not a clue. What I had running through my head was a song I heard on Sesame Street many many years ago, and on The Muppet Show in later years, but it's so amazingly catchy that it still has a place in my mental jukebox. Here's the video, taken from The Muppet Show:


So yeah... this is what I've had in my head all day. Catchy, isn't it?

Well, the first chance I got I looked it up (my Google-Fu is strong), and I immediately found a Wikipedia entry on it. It says, and I quote:


"Mah Nà Mah Nà" is a popular song written by Piero Umiliani. During its 1–15 September 1969 run on the WLS 890 Hit Parade ... It originally appeared in the Italian film Sweden: Heaven and Hell (Svezia, Inferno E Paradiso). It was a minor radio hit in the U.S. and in Britain, but became better known in English-speaking countries from its use in the 14th episode of Sesame Street,[3] the first episode of The Muppet Show, and also from its consistent use as the primary silent comedy sketch scene music for The Benny Hill Show."

That might have been information enough, but it went on to say:

"Mah Nà Mah Na" debuted as part of Umiliani's soundtrack for the Italian mondo film Svezia, inferno e paradiso (Sweden: Heaven and Hell [lit. Hell and Heaven]) (1968), a pseudo-documentary about wild sexual activity and other behaviour in Sweden. The song accompanied a scene in the film set in a sauna which gave its original title "Viva la Sauna Svedese" (Hooray for the Swedish Sauna)."

So. What I've been having roll through my head every once in a while for more than 30 years now is actually a song from an Italian movie about Swedish sex, a sauna scene no less, filtered to me through lovable puppets who star in a show designed for young children.

Is it any wonder I am the way I am?

I think not. I'm lucky I'm as sane as the voices tell me I am.

Talk to you later!

Mah na  mah na... doo dooo do-do-do... mah na mah na....  doo doo-do do....

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